First sentence: Mrs. Gorf had a long tongue and pointed ears. She was the meanest teacher in Wayside School.
Premise/plot: Wayside School was 'accidentally' build sideways. There are thirty floors, each floor containing one classroom. Sideways Stories from Wayside School contains thirty stories that focus on the students, the teachers, and the school. Primarily on the the classroom on the thirtieth floor. (Mrs. Gorf is only the teacher for one chapter. She's later replaced by Mrs. Jewls.) The stories are odd, strange, and sometimes amusing.
Mrs. Jewls, for example, keeps discipline with her chalkboard. If you're in trouble, your name gets put under 'discipline' on the chalkboard. If you get an additional checkmark and circle, you have to go home at noon on the kindergarten bus. There are a few students in her class that are a tiny bit curious what she does in her classroom from 12 to 2!
My thoughts: I liked this one. It's odd in the way Dahl's Matilda is odd. I love the short chapters. While I enjoyed some chapters more than others, my overall feeling is positive. Sometimes it's refreshing for a book to not be serious and realistic.
© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
2 comments:
I loved this book (and its sequels) as a child! I've revisited it as an adult, and it doesn't quite stand up to nostalgia, but back in elementary school, this whole series was easily some of the funniest storytelling I'd ever read. It's so great to realize that people are still reading these older books I remember so fondly.
Have a great day!
Sounds quirky and fun!
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